264: Chapter 264 The Opening of the Xuanhuang Fortress

An extremely brilliant multicolored glow soared into the sky from the edge of the northeastern horizon, shining in seven colors like an inverted heavenly river traversing the entire sky, dyeing heaven and earth within hundreds of thousands of li into a magnificent expanse of colors.

Faint ancient runes flowed within the glow, emitting a mighty pressure that caused all things in heaven and earth to fall silent—this was the will stemming from the Heavenly Dao of the Xuanhuang World itself.

Xuanhuang Fortress had opened.

The location where the glow descended was not too far from Huaiyang City; with the sight of a Tribulation Transcender, one could even faintly see the outline of an ancient city slowly emerging from deep within that glow.

At that instant, everyone unanimously stopped the actions in their hands.

Mu Tianye's soul slaughtering saber stopped mid-air, Xiao Bieli's Moon Concealing Sword was retracted into its scabbard, and Lin Muhan's Heaven Sealing Disk also ceased spinning.

Elder Cangwu withdrew his sword finger, Cang Song held the zhenyue sword horizontally before his chest, and Elder Jianchi remained as calm and unruffled as ever, simply placing his pitch-black longsword back across his knees.

Everyone's gaze was cast toward the multicolored glow soaring into the sky.

Xuanhuang Fortress, one of the top Secret Realms in the Xuanhuang World, meant a complete reshuffling of the entire Xuanhuang World's pattern every time it opened.

For the Three Great Families, the importance of this Secret Realm was far beyond what a petty dispute of pride could compare to.

Although the Mu Family suffered a loss today, as long as they could seize sufficient resources and Legacy within Xuanhuang Fortress, today's minor loss amounted to nothing at all.

Moreover, the core of that plan which the three families had plotted for a long time was closely related to the opening of Xuanhuang Fortress.

Mu Tianye was the first to sheath his saber, casting a cold glance at Elder Cangwu with a voice suppressing lingering anger: "Today's matter is recorded for now. After the affairs of Xuanhuang Fortress are concluded, this seat will settle this score with Kunlun."

Xiao Bieli thrust the Moon Concealing Sword back into the scabbard at his waist, his expression so calm that no emotion could be seen, as he merely nodded slightly toward Elder Cangwu's direction, as if bidding farewell until they met again.

Lin Muhan put away the Heaven Sealing Disk, retrieved the jade-boned folding fan from his sleeve, opened it, and gently waved it, his face restoring that gentle and refined smile once more, though the chill within that smile still lingered.

He glanced at Elder Jianchi, said nothing more, and turned into a streak of light streaking toward the direction where the glow descended.

Mu Tianye followed closely behind, while Xiao Wanren, Lin Boyuan, Lin Qingyin, and Mu Jiu all restrained their auras, and more than a dozen streaks of light pierced the sky like a meteor shower, shooting rapidly toward the direction of the multicolored glow.

In a mere few breaths, the skies above Huaiyang City returned to tranquility.

Only the clouds turned upside down by the recent great battle were still slowly drifting away, proving what kind of astonishing conflict had just taken place here.

The three of Elder Cangwu did not pursue; those dozen-plus streaks of light vanished into the depths of the northeastern sea of clouds in the blink of an eye. Elder Cangwu merely stood with his hands behind his back in the Void Realm, watching them depart with his expression remaining as calm and unruffled as before.

He withdrew his gaze, delaying no longer, and descended from the Void Realm together with Cang Song and Elder Jianchi, landing before Lu Jinghan and the other two.

"Let's go, to Xuanhuang Fortress."

Elder Cangwu was concise and to the point; with a wave of his hand, a gentle cyan sword light flew out from his sleeve, enveloping Lu Jinghan, Zhou Tianchen, and Duan Xinghe within it.

Cang Song and Elder Jianchi also each urged their spiritual power, and the six figures transformed into streaks of light piercing the sky, shooting rapidly toward the direction of the multicolored glow.

Behind them, after a brief silence, Huaiyang City suddenly boiled over like a pan of oil into which a spark had been thrown.

On the long street in front of Laifu Inn, those Loose Cultivators who had been trembling behind shop door panels just moments ago now rushed onto the street one after another, raising their heads to look at the multicolored glow traversing the sky, their eyes filled with fanaticism and greed.

Xuanhuang Fortress, the name itself was a magic—every opening meant the manifestation of countless Opportunities, Legacies, and supreme treasures.

Those Heaven And Earth Treasures that were rarely seen on ordinary days could be seen everywhere like roadside pebbles within Xuanhuang Fortress.

Some broke through from the Void Refinement Stage to the Body Integration Stage in one fell swoop, some obtained a Heaven Rank Cultivation Technique and soared into the skies thereafter, while others obtained nothing and remained forever within that ancient Secret Realm.

But even so, every time Xuanhuang Fortress opened, countless Cultivators still rushed forward one after another, willing to risk their lives to gamble for an illusory chance.

"Xuanhuang Fortress! Xuanhuang Fortress has opened!"

A bearded Loose Cultivator was so excited that his voice was trembling.

"The location of that glow is no more than ten thousand li from Huaiyang City! This old man has waited eight hundred years and finally waited for this day!"

"With your Nascent Soul Stage cultivation, going there is just courting death, save it."

Someone nearby mercilessly poured a basin of cold water, yet that person's feet moved toward the city gate more honestly than anyone else's.

"Even if it's courting death, I must go! In case I run into great fortune and pick up a volume of Heaven Rank Cultivation Technique, I won't have to look at people's faces in this crappy city for the rest of my life!"

Similar conversations were staged simultaneously in every corner of Huaiyang City.

The entire Huaiyang City was like a pot of boiling water, with crowds surging out from every street and alley, rolling toward the northeast.

But not everyone was dazzled by the light of Xuanhuang Fortress; those Cultivators who had witnessed the confrontation between the Three Great Families and Kunlun with their own eyes during the recent Undergoing Tribulation battle were hurrying out of the city while lowering their voices to discuss the earth-shattering conflict just now.

"You guys say, between the Three Great Families and Kunlun, who can laugh last?"

A tall and thin Loose Cultivator leaned close to his companion's ear and asked in a low voice.

"Does that even need to be said?"

His companion rolled his eyes.

"The Lord of Kunlun didn't appear from beginning to end. If he had made a move, could the three family heads have left so cleanly?"

"You can't put it that way."

Another old man nearby chimed in.

"The three family heads clearly also had misgivings about the opening of Xuanhuang Fortress and didn't want to miss the timing, which is why they temporarily ceased action. Didn't you hear what Mu Tianye said, 'After the affairs of Xuanhuang Fortress are concluded, this score will be settled with Kunlun'? This matter is far from over."

"Regardless of whether it's over or not, anyway those are matters of big shots, what do they have to do with small fries like us? The treasures inside Xuanhuang Fortress are what's real!"

Amidst the discussions, people poured out of the city gates like a tide, leaving behind a messy street and a figure slowly stepping out from the shadows.

Yun Tianxiang walked out from the shadows deep in the alley, watching the direction where Elder Cangwu and the other two took Lu Jinghan and the others far away, until those streaks of light completely vanished at the end of the sky.

His gaze fell upon the open window on the second floor of the teahouse at the other end of the street; that place had long been empty with people gone, but he was not anxious.

Mu Mingfeng could not run away, nor could Zheng Lingfeng. Today they had revealed too many flaws, so many that he could completely piece together the truth of back then using these clues.

He turned and walked toward the depths of the alley, preparing to continue investigating the collusion between the Zheng Family and the Mu Family.